News and commentary on Caribbean culture, literature, and the arts

February 4, 2013

Fidel Castro Reports that President Hugo Chávez’s Health is Improving

Reuters reports that former Cuban leader Fidel Castro spoke to reporters after he voted on Sunday in Cuba’s parliamentary elections, saying that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is getting “much better” as he recovers from cancer surgery almost two months ago in Havana.

Although he has made fewer and fewer public appearances, Castro answered the reporters’ questions explaining that he gets daily reports on the condition of Chávez, who is Cuba’s top socialist ally and benefactor. “He is much better, recovering. It has been a tough fight but he is improving,” the frail, white-bearded Castro was quoted as saying. “We have to cure him. Chávez is very important for his country and for Latin America,” he said. Castro’s description of Chávez’s condition matches increasingly positive public statements from Venezuelan officials.

As Reuters states, Chávez, 58, is battling cancer in the pelvic region discovered in June 2011 by Cuban doctors. He has undergone four cancer-related surgeries in Cuba. He was unable to return to Venezuela on January 10 to be sworn in for a new term in office, which he won in the October elections.